Get set – go! Pacific athletes on the Olympic starting line

After months of intense preparations, 104 athletes from 17 Pacific nations are now taking up residence in the Olympic Village ahead of the start of competition at the Paris Olympic Games.

The Australian Government, through PacificAus Sports, has been a proud supporter of the Pacific’s Olympic contenders, partnering with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) to ensure they had every opportunity to train and play alongside the world’s best in their efforts to reach the Games.

From that cohort of outstanding competitors, 45 female athletes and 59 male athletes have made the cut – described by ONOC as ‘The Warriors of Oceania’.

"The pride we feel in our Pacific athletes is immense,” says Dr Robin Mitchell, ONOC President. “The support from the Australian Government has been instrumental in helping our athletes reach their full potential. This partnership highlights the unity and camaraderie within the Pacific, and we are confident that our athletes will make us proud at Paris 2024."

The pride of the region

Simply reaching the Olympics is an achievement in itself, testament to the hard work and dedication of individual athletes – and years of unwavering support from their families, coaches and communities. It’s all part of a collective effort to identify and nurture promising talent from across the region.

"[The athletes’] journey to the Games is a celebration of their resilience, talent, and the spirit of the Pacific family of which Australia is a part,” says Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy MP. “These athletes are a source of inspiration and pride for all of us, and we wish them the very best at the Games."

On the brink of a new chapter

The events of the next few weeks build on the legacy of the support program delivered by PacificAus Sports in partnership with the AOC ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, held in 2021. Headlines were made by Fiji's rugby sevens teams who claimed gold in the men’s competition and bronze in the women’s, but their success was shared by many other Pacific competitors who out-performed expectations at the Games, and notched up personal bests.

The Pacific will be well represented in rugby again this year, with Samoa fielding a men’s team, and Fiji sending teams to both the women’s and men’s competitions.  

Pacific athletes will also be represented in swimming and athletics, as well as boxing, canoeing, judo, sailing, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.